


So Much Better

by Musetotheworld



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:42:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21943072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musetotheworld/pseuds/Musetotheworld
Summary: Kara's drinking alone at the alien bar. Thankfully someone cares enough to stop by and check on her.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Nia Nal
Comments: 8
Kudos: 130
Collections: Super Santa Femslash 2019





	So Much Better

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Argyle_S](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Argyle_S/gifts).



> Merry Christmas! I do have to admit, I haven't seen most of season 5 yet so I had to drop this back a little to just after season 4. Hopefully it still works for you (I kept in that one detail I know you wanted from the prompt).

The bar is quiet tonight. It’s been quiet lately, most nights half full at most. Kara thinks it’s probably lingering paranoia after the mess with Lockwood and Lex. The alien population of the US, and doubly so National City, would likely be hesitant for some time.

Most of the time Kara hates how quiet it is. She remembers nights of fun and laughter, of friendship and joy. Not this quiet, somber bar where no one makes eye contact. Most nights, it’s too much for her.

Tonight, it’s all she wants.

She’s going to be alone anyway, why not be alone somewhere she can drink alcohol that actually affects her? Especially when the bartender is new and doesn’t recognize her. Kara’s not in the mood to play bubbly Kara Danvers, the one who’s friends with all the humans. Tonight she wants to be an anonymous alien drowning her emotions with the others who need a drink more than they need presumed safety.

So that’s exactly what she is. A quick show of superhuman strength convinces the bartender it’s safe to serve her the good stuff, and a few glasses have her nice and buzzed. She can’t quite bring herself to slip into true drunkenness, not when the city’s faith in her is still recovering. Buzzed, she can sober up quickly enough to respond if something goes wrong. Drunk, and she’ll leave them defenseless in the face of an attack.

Still, buzzed does what she needs it to. Buzzed offers a distraction. Keeps her from thinking too hard about, well, about anything.

Every time she starts to think, starts to remember the emptiness that is her life, Kara waves for another round. With the bar so empty and Kara willing to tip generously with each one, the bartender doesn’t seem to mind the detours. Which is nice, because when she starts moving her metabolism ramps up and starts burning through the alcohol at a faster rate than she can drink it. Which is not conducive to her goals for the night.

Somewhere around her fifth drink someone slides into the seat across from her. Kara doesn’t bother looking up, just waves a hand at whoever decided the bar needed a little conversation tonight. “Go away, I’m not interested.”

Not interested in conversation, not interested in anything that would involve not talking either.

“That’s funny, because I’m pretty sure you’re the one who scheduled training every Saturday, and I quote ‘for the next ten years’ because we could both use the practice.”

Snapping her head up, Kara’s surprised to see Nia sitting across from her. But apparently she shouldn’t be surprised. She vaguely remembers putting the appointments into Nia’s calendar, but between the mess with everyone suspecting her of attacking the White House and the stress of clearing her name, Kara hasn’t had many free Saturdays to spend on training. 

“I didn’t-”

“Oh, I know,” Nia interrupts the apology. “But I had a feeling you needed a friend tonight.”

Kara wants to protest, but she can’t. Before Nia sat down across from her, Kara would’ve sworn friends weren’t worth the trouble. Just look at her list of friendships, such as it is.

Winn, off in the future. With her ex-boyfriend. James, she honestly wasn’t sure where they stood. He’d lied to her in favor of Lena. Lena, who is currently awaiting trial for helping Lex escape prison. Sure, she claims she didn’t know that’s what he was planning, but the odds weren’t looking good for her.

Alex was a friend, sure, but Kara didn’t feel comfortable lumping her in with the others. Alex was her sister, the one person Kara knew she could count on no matter what. Even when she didn’t remember Supergirl, Alex had been there for Kara without question or hesitation. So she doesn’t really count for this particular friendship determination.

Kelly? Kara doesn’t know her well enough. What she does know, she likes. And the woman seems good for Alex. That always buys goodwill from Kara. But they aren’t close enough for Kara to consider her a friend. And either way, she and Alex are off for a well-earned vacation for a week or so. Not something Kara has any intention of crashing.

With a track record like that, is it any wonder Kara hadn’t thought about seeking out a friend for tonight? Alcohol was easier.

But Nia doesn’t deserve that flippant write off. She’s been there for Kara through a lot, and been there for the people of National City when Supergirl couldn’t. And she’s grown so much, even become sure enough of herself to interrupt Kara. 

“Maybe you’re right,” Kara says instead, taking another sip of her drink with a wince. The only alcohol strong enough to affect her tastes terrible.

When she sets the glass down, Nia is giving her a strange look. “What?”

“Why do you drink that stuff? There are a dozen better options up there. And I know you like their beers.”

Kara shrugs, looking down at her glass. “It tastes better than thinking feels.”

A few seconds of silence pass, and then Nia’s phone is shoved onto the table, directly in Kara’s line of sight. 

“Watch the entire playlist, then we’ll talk.”

Kara glances up at Nia in shock, but there’s no sign of backing down on her face. Whatever this is, Nia isn’t going to give in easily.

So Kara does the only thing she can, and gives in herself. She’s too tired to fight this battle, and Nia’s every bit as stubborn as Kara on a good day. Add that to the buzz she’s still got, and there’s no way Kara would win that fight.

The playlist turns out to be a collection of animal videos Kara’s somehow never seen before, and she’d thought she knew all the best ones. 

Somewhere around the third video, Kara feels her lethargy and general bad mood start to slip away. And it’s not just the sight of baby goats in scarves running around and trying to eat them that does it. It’s knowing Nia cared enough to track her down and make sure she wasn’t alone.

She wants to say something then, but when she looks up, Nia just points back at her phone. “All of them, Kara. A mood like this is going to take more than three videos.”

Kara’s not entirely sure about that, she’s already in a better mood than she thought possible. The mix of cute baby animals (seriously, who could resist those?) and knowing Nia wants her to feel better are a potent combination and exactly the antidote she needed tonight. It’s easy enough to slip into melancholy while alone, but with Nia here, that isn’t an option. 

“Now, drink this,” Nia says when the last video plays, holding out a glass of plain water. “Time to start sobering you up.”

She’s already sober, her metabolism processing the alcohol quickly enough once she stops drinking regularly. But the care Nia is showing deserves acknowledgment. Which means Kara will drink as many glasses of water as Nia pushes at her if that’s what it takes.

Thankfully she stops with the one, and Kara smiles at how concerned she still looks. “Sober yet?”

“Yeah, I have been,” Kara says, reaching out to grab Nia’s hand with her own. “Thank you, Nia.”

She wasn’t expecting the blush that covers Nia’s cheeks at the contact, but Kara’s not stupid. Or particularly unobservant. She can spot a blush, and there are only a few possible reasons for it. Nia’s not drinking anything of her own, so that eliminates a few of the options.

“You know, I’m not feeling the bar anymore,” Kara says, trying to get a feel for whether she’s reading this right. “What do you say we go back to my place and have ice cream instead.”

The blush is still there, but Nia nods easily enough. “Fine, but if you don’t have rocky road, I’m sending you out for more.”

“Oh, please, have we met? Of course I have rocky road. And brownie bits and cookie dough.” She has more than those, but those are the flavors she remembers Nia liking most. They’re also some of Kara’s favorites, but she can share, just this once. After all, Nia broke her out of the funk she’d settled into. That deserves a bit of sacrifice on her end.

“You sure you’re sober to fly us there?” Nia asks when they stop in the bar’s alley, stepping closer to Kara.

They’ve done this dozens of times, but Kara feels strangely nervous about this time. There’s testing a hypothesis, and then there’s jumping past a careful experiment into real-world applications. This will definitely be the latter, and it’s as much a test for her as it is for Nia.

Not of her own feelings, no. Kara’s well familiar with those. She’s thought Nia was wonderful for months now, has felt that appreciation turn to attraction. But her luck with relationships always kept her from pushing forward. She doesn’t have the best track record. And without some sign from Nia that her feelings are returned, why run the risk? She’s not opposed to the idea of trying another relationship at all, but she doesn’t want to make the first move.

Which is why she’s hoping they can count Nia tracking her down as that first move. 

“I wouldn’t fly at all if I wasn’t sure, let alone with a passenger.”

Kara’s holding back, waiting for Nia to make the decision. She’ll walk to her apartment if that’s what Nia wants.

But the promise is enough, and Kara watches as Nia takes a deep breath before closing the last distance between them. And where usually she’d flip around, back to front, this time she stays facing Kara. Arms lift to wind around the Kryptonian’s neck, and Kara takes a deep breath of her own before looking down into Nia’s eyes. They’re glimmering with something she can’t put into words.

But when Nia leans up to kiss her, Kara realizes words are entirely irrelevant right now. Meeting Nia halfway is all that matters, and kissing her until finally they slow and stop.

“I didn’t think our first kiss would be in a dirty alley,” Nia says with a laugh, and Kara swears her heart is flying even if the rest of her is on the ground.

“You pictured us kissing?”

“What, you didn’t?”

There’s no good answer to that one without giving herself away, so Kara shrugs a little and leans down for their second kiss. “I wasn’t joking though, I do have ice cream. And then maybe we can talk about this, about us?”

Nia’s smile is all the answer Kara needs, and she lifts them off the ground with a third kiss. This is a much better night than she’d expected when she sat down at the bar. 

So much better.


End file.
